Spider-Man Saves Wheelchair User in Arkansas

When a wheelchair user struggled to cross a busy 6-lane road, a superhero was on hand to help.

Credit: Jonesboro Police Department

Christopher Hellenthal, 20, was still wearing his Spider-Man costume after a superhero-themed event when he saw an opportunity to save the day. He leapt out of his car and wheeled the person to safety moments before the traffic lights changed.

“I had a bunch of adrenaline pumping through me,” Hellenthal told The Associated Press, saying he had to act quickly in heavy midday traffic. “I was just kind of thinking, ‘I’m wearing this suit, it’s gonna be pretty funny.’” He was still garbed in his Spider-Man costume from a superhero-themed event at a trampoline park where he works when he spotted the person in traffic and ran out to help, declaring: “I got you.”

Hellenthal swiftly rolled the person in the wheelchair to safety only seconds before the light changed and the rows of traffic advanced.

The live-action superhero moment was captured by a street security camera in the city of Jonesboro and shared on social media by local police, who thanked Hellenthal for helping the man reach safety across the crosswalk.

After rolling the man safely across the road, Hellenthal bolted back into his Jeep blocking traffic “because the light turned green pretty fast.” After the Jonesboro Police Department shared the video on Facebook, it quickly (and unsurprisingly) became a viral sensation, quickly accumulating tens of thousands of ‘likes’ on the social media platform.